Capricor Announces Plans to Pursue Clinical Program for the Treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy with Cardiosphere-Derived Cells (CDCs)

Capricor Announces Plans to Pursue Clinical

Program for the Treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy with Cardiosphere-Derived Cells (CDCs)

October 6, 2014 - Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: CAPR), a biotechnology company focused on developing novel

therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announced that it plans to develop a clinical program for Duchenne

Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) using CAP-1002, Capricor's lead product candidate. CAP-1002 is an allogeneic, off-the-shelf, investigational

cell therapy derived from donor heart tissue and is infused directly into a patient's coronary arteries during a catheterization

procedure. CAP-1002 is currently in Phase II clinical testing for adults with ischemic heart disease.

The clinical program

will move forward based, in part, on data findings from the laboratory of Eduardo Marb n, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Advisory

Board Chairman of Capricor and the Director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. The data will be presented at the Late Breaking

Basic Science Posters and Reception during the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago on November 17th,

Dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation of the dystrophin gene and is characterized by progressive muscle degeneration

and weakness. Symptoms usually appear in male children before age six but may be visible

in early infancy and the disorder is often fatal. Though characterized by progressive

skeletal muscle weakness which often results in patients requiring the use of a wheelchair and having respiratory complications,

DMD also results in cardiac dysfunction in most patients. Many deaths occur due to cardiomyopathy caused by a weakening of the

cardiac muscle as a result of the gene mutation that is responsible for the disease. Many patients do not survive beyond their

mid-twenties. Nearly 20,000 male children are living with the disease in the United States alone and approximately 275,000 are

extremely excited to develop a clinical program targeting DMD as a potential indication for our CDC platform technology,"

said Capricor CEO, Linda Marb n, Ph.D. "In early clinical trials, CDCs have shown to be safe and to reduce scar size

in patients with ischemic heart disease. Treatment of DMD cardiomyopathy provides a unique opportunity to apply Capricor's

CDC technology for the treatment of patients with a potentially fatal orphan disease. Although, there is no cure for DMD, we look

forward to raising the overall scientific understanding of this disease, and hopefully to improving the lives of patients with

DMD and their families."

About the Presentation

An abstract entitled,

"Heart-derived Cell Therapy for Duchenne Cardiomyopathy: Cardiosphere-derived Cells and their Exosomes Improve Function,

Restore Mitochondrial Integrity and Reverse Degenerative Changes in the Hearts of Mdx Mice," will be presented at the Late

Breaking Basic Science Posters and Reception at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014. The presentation

will be held between 4:00-6:00 PM on Monday, November 17th, in South Hall A2 of McCormick Place, Chicago, IL

About Capricor Therapeutics

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (CAPR), a

publicly traded biotechnology company, is focused on the development of novel therapeutics to prevent and treat heart disease.

The Company has two leading product candidates: CAP-1002 and Cenderitide. The Company was formed through the November 2013 merger

between Capricor, Inc., a privately held company whose mission is to improve the treatment of heart disease by commercializing

cardiac stem cell therapies for patients, and Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative

products for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. For additional information visit www.capricor.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking

Statements in this press release regarding

the efficacy, safety, and intended utilization of Capricor's product candidates; the conduct, size, timing and results of

discovery efforts and clinical trials; plans regarding regulatory filings, future research and clinical trials; plans regarding

current and future collaborative activities and the ownership of commercial rights; future royalty streams, and any other statements

about Capricor's management team's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking

statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of

historical fact (including statements containing the words "believes," "plans," "could," "anticipates,"

"expects," "estimates," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar

expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause

actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. More information about these

and other risks that may impact our business are set forth in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, as filed with

the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2014, in our Amendment No. 1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1, as filed

with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23, 2014, and in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014, as filed

with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 14, 2014. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based

on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For more information, please contact:

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc.

AJ Bergmann, Vice President of Finance

ProActive Capital Group